Daniel Hesse

Daniel R. Hesse (born c. 1953) is the former chief executive officer of Sprint Corporation.^[1]

Hesse’s tenure at Sprint focused on improved customer service. In 2014, the American Customer Satisfaction Index recognized Sprint as the most improved U.S. company in overall customer satisfaction over the previous six years.^[2]

He was also the spokesperson, as the voice in Sprint's "Simply Everything" commercials.

Hesse joined the board of directors for PNC Financial Services^[3] and Akamai Technologies^[4] in 2016.

Early life

Hesse's father was a career army officer and he spent his early years going from army base to army base attending 8 different schools between kindergarten in Italy before graduating Stuttgart American High School.

He received a Bachelor's degree from the University of Notre Dame in government and liberal studies in 1975;^[5] an MBA from the Johnson Graduate School of Management at Cornell University in 1977; and master's of science from the MIT Sloan School of Management as a Sloan Fellow in 1989.

In telecommunications

AT&T

He spent 23 years at AT&T where he started out as an intern.

From 1991–1995 he was President and CEO of AT&T Network Systems International based in the Netherlands.

He launched the online division's AT&T Worldnet service in February 1996 which introduced unlimited internet dial up for $20/month as long as you subscribed to AT&T's long distance services.^[6]

In May 1997 he became head of AT&T Wireless.^[6] In 1998, Hesse oversaw the launch of the Digital One Rate plan offering simplified minute-bucket pricing to eliminate roaming and long-distance fees regardless of customer location.^[7]

Terabeam Corporation

From March 2000 to June 2004 he was CEO and chairman of Terabeam Corporation.^[8]

Embarq Corporation

In June 2005 Hesse joined Sprint and oversaw the spinoff of its landline division into a separate public company– Embarq Corporation.^[9] Hesse served as the President and Chief Executive Officer of Embarq from May 2006 until December 2007.

Sprint

On December 17, 2007 he became CEO of Sprint Nextel.^[10]

Hesse joined Sprint as the company was experiencing financial and customer defection problems resulting from Nextel merger. He aimed to stem further losses by improving customer service. Hesse also oversaw an investment/ownership stake in WiMAX-provider Clearwire which created a national 4G wireless spectrum position. Retail stores were added across the nation to enhance in-person customer service as well. During his last two full calendar years as CEO, Sprint's total shareholder return, assuming reinvested dividends, ranked #1 among all S&P 500 companies.^[11]

During his tenure he appeared in numerous television commercials for the company, filmed in black and white, and created by Goodby, Silverstein & Partners. The ads were filmed in New York City.

On August 6, 2014 Sprint announced that Hesse would be succeeded by Marcelo Claure, founder of Brightstar Corporation.^[12]

Awards & Recognition

Wireless Industry Person of the Year RCR magazine.^[13] Most Influential Person in Mobile Technology, LAPTOP Magazine. Lifetime Achievement Award, Corporate Responsibility magazine.^[14] Highest Rated CEOs at large companies,^[15] Glassdoor. Executive of the Year, Wireless Business & Technology magazine. CEO of the Year, The National Eagle Leadership Institute.^[16] One of five "Best Turnaround CEO's of All Time", Fierce Wireless.^[17] Leadership Award, Wireless Week magazine.^[18] Kansas City’s Best CEO, Ingrams. Excellence in Corporate Leadership and Philanthropy, American India Foundation.^[19] Great Futures Award, Boys & Girls Clubs of America.^[20] Corporate Social Responsibility Difference Maker of the Year Award, Urban League of Kansas City.^[21]

References